Postage value determining and control circuit

ABSTRACT

A postage value determining and control circuit for use in a continuous mail sorting and postage imprinting system which automatically weighs and meters each piece of mail. The system is designed to rapidly handle a large quantity of mixed mail. Mixed mail is continuously and synchronously fed in seriatim along a continuous feed path. Unsealed envelopes have their flaps wetted and sealed. All the envelopes are stopped at a weighing station where they are weighed, and the postage corresponding to their particular weight is computed. The determined postage value is used to continuously reset a postage meter which imprints the required postage upon each envelope as it arrives at a metering station. The metering and weighing functions of the system are synchronized such that the postage meter will imprint the proper postage upon each piece of mail, despite the fact that several envelopes may be simultaneously in transit along the feed path. Overweight pieces of mail are rejected from the feed path prior to their reaching the postage meter station. Metered and overweight pieces of mail are separately stacked.

United States Patent 1191 Manduley et al.

[ June 17, 1975 Connx, Anthony Storace, Tarrytown, N.Y.

[73] Assignee: Pitney Bowes, Inc., Stamford, Conn.

[22] Filed: June 5, I974 [21] Appl. No.: 476,682

[52] 11.8. CI. 235/l5l.33; 235/92 WT; l77/6l [51] Int. Cl. G06f 15/20; GOlg 23/42 [58] Field of Search 235/l5l.33, 92 WT; 177/25,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/l97l Furlong el al. 340/1725 X l/l972 Salava 235/l5l.33 X

Primary ExaminerMalcolm A. Morrison Assistant Examiner-Edward J. Wise Attorney, Agent, or FirmWilliam D. Soltow, .Ir.; Albert W. Scribner; Robert S. Salzman [57] ABSTRACT A postage value determining and control circuit for use in a continuous mail sorting and postage imprinting system which automatically weighs and meters each piece of mail. The system is designed to rapidly handle a large quantity of mixed mail. Mixed mail is continuously and synchronously fed in seriatim along a continuous feed path. Unsealed envelopes have their flaps wetted and sealed. All the envelopes are stopped at a weighing station where they are weighed, and the postage corresponding to their particular weight is computed. The determined postage value is used to continuously reset a postage meter which imprints the required postage upon each envelope as it arrives at a metering station. The metering and weighing functions of the system are synchronized such that the postage meter will imprint the proper postage upon each piece 3,692,988 9 1972 Dlugos et al 235/151.33 3,714,401 111973 Yano 235 5133 0f mall desplte the fact that Several envelopes y be 3,725,656 4/1973 Fukuma 235/1513: im n sly in transit along the feed path. Over- 3,740,536 6/l973 Takahashi et a]... 235/15L33 weight pieces of mail are rejected from the feed path 3,769,498 l0/l973 Hino et al. 235/l5l.33 prior to their reaching the postage meter station. Me- 3,770,069 ll/l973 Loshbough 235/l5l.33 X tered and overweight pieces f n are Separately stacked.

4 Claims, 30 Drawing Figures 1:52am Nave gust PIE-SCALE STATION 17 srmou 15 STATION 21 METER TRANSFER 1s srmou a wetsums GATE msmee METER STATIoM a0 22 STATION 23 I) 0 c mg] o -8 %88 88 as, s ss 10 Feeo mu reto PATH j SEPARATOR SCALE 19 14 SELECIDR srmou a5 FEEDER DECK REJECT METERED MAIL STMZKER 2b STACKER 27 (welt-tumor" MAIL) PATENTEDJUN 1 7 ms q FEED PATH Fl 6. I (1.

FEED PATH PATENTEDJUN 17 ms SHEET PATENTED JUN 1 7 I975 vll ; .r.... T u

QC Cu Pp QQ PATENTED Jun 17 ms SHEET FIG.7C1

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PATENTEIJJUN 17 I975 SHEET FIG. I8

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1. A postage value determining and control circuit interconnected between a weighing device having a photodetector bank for supplying weight pulse signals indicative of the weight of a piece of mail, and a postage meter for imprinting a postage value upon weighed pieces of mail, said determining and control ciRcuit receiving weight information from said weighing device, and performing a multiplication between a unit price per unit weight value and said weight information to provide a resultant postage imprinting value for said postage meter, said postage value determining and control circuit comprising: a priority encoder operatively connected to said weighing device for converting weighing pulses from said weighing device to BCD weighing information; unit price means for supplying a unit price per unit of weight value; converting means operatively connected to said unit price means for converting said unit price per unit of weight value to unit price BCD information; adder means operatively connected to said converting means for receiving said unit price BCD information and adding said unit price BCD information a plurality of times equal to the BCD weighing information so as to effect a multiplication between the unit price per unit weight value and said weight information, thereby providing a postage imprinting value for said postage meter; and control means including an up-down counter operatively connected to said adder means for controlling the addition of the adder means, the up-down counter operatively connected to said encoder for counting down a number of times corresponding to the BCD weighing information, and upon reaching a zero count condition, halting further addition in said adder means.
 2. The postage value determining and control circuit of claim 1, wherein said adder means comprises two adders, a units adder for operating upon units values of postage, and a tens adder for operating upon tens values of postage.
 3. The postage value determining and control circuit of claim 2, further comprising a units comparator and a tens comparator, said units comparator operatively connected to said units adder, and said tens comparator operatively connected to said tens adder, and means for supplying previous postage value information to said comparators for providing present postage value difference information.
 4. The postage value determining and control circuit of claim 3, further including stepper motor pulse generating means operatively connected to said comparators for receiving said postage value difference information, and providing stepper motor pulses for setting the postage meter from said previous postage value to a present postage value. 